


Magic Bullet

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Video Blogging RPF, Youtube RPF
Genre: Altered Mental States, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety Attacks, Arguing, Banter, Conditioning, False Memories, Feels, Getting to Know Each Other, Hugs, Hypnotism, Implied/Referenced Suicide attempt, Insomnia, Magic, Magic-Users, Mid-Canon, Mind Control, Panic, Relationship Discussions, Scene Gone Wrong, Sensation Play, Side Effects, Sleep Deprivation, Sleepiness, Surprises, Temporary Amnesia, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 19:15:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16069559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: Marvin insists that he, as a hypnotist, is immune to being hypnotized himself. Chase is dubious, Jameson has tricks up his sleeve, and the Glitch revels greatly in the concept of mind over magic.





	Magic Bullet

It was an unusual conversation Jameson had happened upon, that was for certain. Neither Chase nor Marvin had noticed he was there and he didn’t have a chance to speak up and catch their attention with a speech slide; they were firing back and forth much faster than usual and paying no attention whatsoever to their surroundings.

“I just want to help you,” Marvin protested earnestly, leaning his elbows forward on his knees as he watched Chase pace the length of the living room, scrubbing his face in a fruitless attempt to wipe away the shadows under his eyes.

“And I want you to, man, but it _doesn’t work!_ How many times are you going to try and get me to relax? You always give up—because you have to, y’know? Because something’s wrong with me.”

“Nothing is _wrong_ with you!” Marvin snapped, pushing himself upright. Chase spun on his heel, seeming taken off guard by the severity of his tone, and the magician paused for a moment to take a deep breath before continuing more carefully. “I just haven’t found the right technique to use yet. I know you better than anyone, Chase.”

“Then you should know I probably wouldn’t get the sleep you want me to even if you did help me.”

Marvin ignored the interjection. “I know how your mind works. Nine times out of ten, I can guess what you’re thinking and even when I can’t, you end up telling me! If _anyone_ knows how you tick, it’s me, but my magic hasn’t adapted to…” He hesitated.

Chase huffed wryly, shifting his weight and tapping two knuckles against the side of his forehead. “It hasn’t adapted to what I did. This won’t let you,” he supplied flatly. “My brain got rewired, so you can’t tap in. Look, it doesn’t say anything about _you_ , Marv. S’not you or your magic’s fault that I thought a bullet would be a better fit.”

Both Marvin and Jameson lurched back slightly at that. JJ had never seen him refer so blatantly to the reason for the scarring he worked so hard to hide under his hair. Judging by the way Marvin’s jaw clenched, he didn’t particularly appreciate it.

“You need rest,” Marvin stated lowly, “and I want to give it to you. No pills, no powder, no drowning yourself in tea or whiskey. I’ll work out a way to stop those texts you send me at three in the morning, for both our sakes. I’m going to help you, Chase, no matter how long it takes. We’ll figure it out.”

The bitterness in Chase’s face was draining now and his shoulders promptly slumped, exposing the fatigue underneath. “I just don’t think we can,” he muttered despondently, leaning into Marvin’s opening arms as he spoke. His voice was muffled in the older Ego’s neck when he continued, but when Jameson leaned against the wall he could still catch a strain of it. “…trying to end it so I wouldn’t screw everything up anymore, look what I did. I screwed everything up.”

“It isn’t a screw-up. It’s just a consequence you didn’t expect.” Sighing deeply, Marvin ran a hand over his back and pursed his lips. “Hypnosis was the first art of magic I ever mastered. What does it say about me that I can’t do it for you?”

“Hey, I already said it’s not your fault.” Tilting his head up, Chase leaned his temple briefly against the magician’s and snorted softly. “We’ve tried this so many times that I know the words by heart—I could probably hypnotize _you_.”

At that Marvin pulled back, swatting Chase’s arm incredulously. “Are you kidding? No one can hypnotize me!”

“Hey, _you_ don’t have a weird brain like I do,” Chase countered, seeming to latch onto this as a lighter shift in the subject. “I’ll bet I could march straight to your office whenever you wear yourself down working on your tricks all day and I could knock you out! Or someone else could—”

“Chase, buddy, you don’t seem to know how this works!” Marvin exclaimed, laughing dismissively. “You need _magic_ to hypnotize a magician.”

“Oh, please!” Chase scoffed as he folded his arms and lifted his nose with authority. “All I need is a spoon or a watch!”

“What, you want to test this out? The kitchen’s right over there!” As Marvin turned, Jameson startled, given no opportunity to move out of sight. “Oh. Hello, Jameson…How long were you standing there?”

 **“My apologies, good sirs, I didn’t mean to intrude,”** Jameson stammered, holding up his hands placatingly.

“Hey, no, this is perfect!” Chase broke in, reaching out eagerly. “You got your watch on you?”

**“Naturally!”**

“Can I use it?”

 **“Well, it’s—it’s an heirloom of a sort; I’d prefer not to let it fall into the wrong hands.”** When a flash of surprise and hurt crossed Chase’s face, Jameson realized just how that must have sounded. **“I’m sorry, I misspoke! I simply mean to say it’s delicate and I need to keep tight custody of it. It—”** Gesturing weakly, he drew it from his pocket, cupping it in his hands for them to see. **“It belonged to Master Mcloughlin.”**

“…Oh,” Chase murmured, his face softening at the sight of it. His eyes flickered quickly down for a moment or two and then back up as he forced a smile. “May be better if I don’t touch it then. I’ll get a spoon!”

“Chase, this is ridiculous,” Marvin protested, catching ahold of his arm as he moved toward the kitchen. “It’s not gonna work with a watch or a spoon—neither of you can hypnotize me!”

 **“Now, now, don’t lump me in with the rest of the sugar,”** Jameson scolded, weighing the watch in his palm and covering it with the opposite hand, as if offended.

“Okay, sorry, you’re right,” Marvin amended. “You weren’t even involved in the conversation; Chase was the one who—”

 **“I’m quite _certain_ I could hypnotize you!”** At the bewildered expression that came over the older Ego, Jameson squared his shoulders, smartly brushed down his vest. **“I’ve good experience with the art!”**

Where had that experience come from? He didn’t know. It was just…something within him, but apparently it was something he was confident of and he couldn’t help but be slightly pleased at the grin that was surfacing on Chase’s face as he spoke to back him up.

“Looks like you’ve got a challenger, Marv! You gonna let him try? There’s no need for me to get _my_ grubby fingers on the watch if he’s got it and he knows how to use it!”

“Listen…” Marvin began resignedly.

“No, here, I want to see if this works!” Chase spoke over him, gesturing him back to the couch. “If it doesn’t, then you’ve got nothing to worry about, right?”

 **“Even if it _does_ , you’ve no reason to worry,”** Jameson ventured kindly. **“I won’t ask you to do anything that will hurt you or humiliate you. At the most I’ll ask you to sleep for a few moments—you have my word.”**

Marvin didn’t seem particularly reassured, but he didn’t offer any other protests as he sank stiffly down into his previous place on the couch and Jameson moved to stand in front of him.

 **“Turn the television on, Chase, if you please,”** the gentleman requested. **“Since I…I have no voice to rely on, I’ll need a gentle music channel.”**

As soon as he found one, Chase shifted to the side, leaning against the wall with folded arms and peeking between the pair, his expression one of great interest. Marvin gave him a brief sideways glance that spoke of nothing but irritation before Jameson tapped his shoulder to recapture his attention.

 **“Focus on what you see in front of you,”** he instructed as he let the watch’s chain slip slowly between his fingers, setting it on its path. **“Focus on the watch and its momentum. Do you see it?”**

“Your speech slide is in the way,” the older Ego muttered.

That was precisely what Jameson had intended, though the magician didn’t know it yet. **“My words are transparent. Look through them,”** he encouraged gently. **“Look hard. Follow the light reflecting on its casing as it shifts back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. This is your sense of time.”**

“If you’ve wound it correctly, I imagine it’s yours too,” Marvin pointed out under his breath, though he didn’t take his eyes off it.

 **“Focus…”** Jameson repeated. **“The watch is your sense of time. Follow it. The longer it swings, the more aware you become of it. Watch the instrument—fix it firmly in your mind and take note of every detail. The speed and the weight, the soft sounds it makes, the way it moves the air…It moves the air for you. Accept it. Breathe deeply. Inhale through your nose…exhale through your mouth. Very good. As you breathe, you give back to it all of the tension you have hidden in your shoulders and back. Relax them as much as you can. With every breath, it becomes easier.”**

This was textbook, Marvin mused distantly as he leaned more easily into the cushions behind him. He was _choosing_ to relax, he was…he was still controlling his own actions. It was easy for him to make it this far.

 _But focus on the watch_ , the greater portion of his mind urged softly. He had to do that. The point of the exercise was to focus on the watch. It swung at a leisurely pace, easy for his eyes to track. When was the last time he’d blinked?

 **“Splendid. Again for me, please. Inhale…and exhale. Inhale and exhale. As you continue breathing this way, you may realize that your body feels heavier and heavier. Warm gravity pulls on you more and more with each passing moment. Each downward swing of the watch lures your body down with it. At your own pace, I want you to let your _mind_ drift.”** Carefully JJ let the words fade one by one from the slide hovering between Marvin’s steady gaze and his timepiece. The last word lingered a solid beat longer than the rest.

 _Drift_.

As his body fell limp, his mind naturally wanted to go in the same direction. All he had to do was let it. It was a nice notion, comforting. He could let someone else do the work and enjoy the soft, rhythmic pulsing of the music ghosting over his ears.

He didn’t… _need_ to be in control.

The moment that thought surfaced from the hazy mental pool, he slipped. Jameson was forced to bite back a delighted smile as he watched the magician’s concentrated features fall vacant. When he glanced to his right, he saw that Chase was grinning widely enough for both of them.

 **“Very, very good. Now, Marvin, you’re deeply relaxed.”** The word lingered before him. _Relaxed_. **“Because of this deep relaxation, you’ll find it very easy to speak. Tell me how you feel.”** _Feel_.

“Good…” he sighed sleepily, parted lips barely moving. “Good. Relaxed…”

**“I want you to relax even further. Every speck of stress and tension will drain away, making you feel better and better as you fall deeper into trance. Deeper and deeper down. You feel safe and secure. Now focus on your eyes, the muscles behind them, and the muscles in your neck. Everything in you but those muscles has gone limp and loose and heavy.”**

Turning his administrations to his speech slides, Jameson clicked them into a succinct, steady pattern, watching Marvin’s lashes flicker with each key word that passed. _Trance. Relaxed. Safe. Secure. Deep. Better and better_.

The pool of thoughts was lazily circling the drain, leaving nothing on the surface but what he was told. Trance relaxed him. Deep trance was better. The deeper he went, the safer he was. He felt so _good_.

**“You’ll remember these words. You’ll see them in your mind even if your eyes close. It’s rather difficult to keep them open, isn’t it?”**

The question confused him at first. He hadn’t blinked in—who knew how long?—and he still felt better than he ever would’ve expected to feel today, but now that Jameson mentioned it, it was a source of discomfort. With almost everything in him entirely limp, it didn’t make sense for anything else to hold out anymore.

 **“When I touch your shoulder, you can let those last muscles loosen. As soon as you do, you’ll find yourself dozing off into a deep, soft sleep. Until just now, you didn’t realize how much you craved it. Let your eyes close, let your head dip gently forward, and sleep…”** The brush of Jameson’s fingers just shy of his collarbone was featherlight, leaving a pleasant tingle. **“…now.”**

“Jays,” Chase breathed in astonishment as Marvin’s glazed eyes fluttered and his head drooped toward his chest. “Dude, I can’t believe you actually—!” Pushing himself off the wall, he latched onto Jameson’s arm, admiration and hope shining from him. “Do you think you could do that for me? Help me sleep?”

 **“Well, p-perhaps, but I’m not certain,”** Jameson admitted. **“I obviously need to bring him out of it first and allow him to—”**

A faint, wavering whimper interrupted them then, drawing their attention back to the subject of conversation. The magician had all at once hunched into himself, head shaking minutely, eyelids tightening against the images flashing behind them. Something—something had changed—

_Trance. Relaxed. Safe. Secure. Deep. Better and better._

_Capt̶i͘ve̢. Wea͠ķ. Taken̕. Ţi͡g͏h̡t. Down. ̴F͡arthe̴r ͡an͜d f͢arthe̵r_.

_Yo҉u k͢n͠ew ̵b̛ette̛r͝, m̴agi͡cian._

_You ͝sho̧u͜ld͢'̢ve̶ re̴f̧us̡ed._

_I̛f͝ only ̵y̨ou̶ kne͝w w͠hat y͞o̶u ̧just͜ did._

“Marvin?” Chase ventured nervously as the older Ego whined, hands automatically rising to clutch at his temples. He didn’t even know he was moving; all he could feel was the piercing drill of pain burning through his skull, hotter and hotter with each passing moment. The walls of his mind were closing in, trapping him—

“Let…lemme out…” he slurred pleadingly, rocking into his fingers and panting hard. “Let me…P-Please, it…it hurts!”

“Marvin? Marvin?!” Chase spat frantically, lunging to steady him before he threw himself too far forward. As soon as the vlogger touched him, he recoiled, sprawling back against the couch cushions and moaning unintelligibly. “JJ, what’s going on? What’s happening?!”

 **“I—I didn’t—You oversaw me, Chase, I’ve done nothing that would hurt him!”** Jameson yelped, scrambling to his other side and clutching Marvin’s nearest hand as it swung haphazardly his way. **“I only made him sleep!”**

“Well, bring him out of it!”

“Hnh… _Adiuva me, obsecro, auxilium mihi…Dolet_ ,” Marvin sobbed out, quivering as Jameson dropped his hand and reached up for his face, tilting it toward him and pressing the watch against his ear. “ _Nolo capi_ — _Non me nocebit eis!_ ”

 **“Y-You’ve done enough for today, my good sir!”** Jameson stammered fearfully, though Marvin’s eyes weren’t open to read his words. **“When I touch your shoulder again, you’ll come out of your state and you’ll—you’ll wake completely! You’ll feel entirely normal and well and you’ll be able to recover from everything we’ve done!”**

The watch. Beyond the trance, Marvin could hear the watch. His consciousness reeled toward it, desperate, needy, flailing to escape the flood of pain—and _pleasure_ —that those ugly, evil messages flashing behind his eyes pounded into him.

 _I̷ he̴a̢r it ̴toǫ. Tick tock,̧ ͟ti͏c͠k̴ ͡to͘ck. Th̢at's ̶th̕e͝ s̷oun̛d of̧ ̶your͞ ţime runniņg͟ out. We ha͜ve͠ a l҉ot͜ ̢ţo̢ ͠d̸o͘, m̡ągic̕ian̢._ _I̕’ll ͢make yo̢u sleep. I͞'ll ̕ma̧k̕e y̛ou şi̵ck, and you’ll͞ ͝fee̛l bett͘er ̧t͜hen tha̷n y̕ou e̵v̷e̶r c̷ơuld_ _w͘ith̕ the̡m._

_Sick.̢ ̨S̕le͢ep. P͢ret͜e̷nd̕ers.̧ Pup̸pet. Pla̛ns. Y̨o͠ur҉s.̵ ̧Min̢ȩ._

_Le͢t th͞em think ͢that͞ the mute succe̵ed҉ed. Y̢o͝u won’t̵ r͡e͞mem̷b̡er w̡e̕ ev͟er͜ şpoke, but ͝ąll these se͏n̵s̕ati͞ons̛…Th̵ey'̡l̷l ͘be burie̷d̢ d͟e͠ep͡,͞ ͠d͠e͞ep i̡n̵ your head, and͡ a͝ll of̷ t͜he̷m ͝are ̢f̕or n͢o one bu̧t̴ me._

_W͞ake ̵up̡ n̷o̴w͡._

The grip Jameson clapped onto Marvin’s shoulder was much more forceful than his last; he added a firm shake for good measure and to his great relief, Marvin’s writhing stilled. His harsh breaths softened, easing back into a more natural rhythm, and after another moment or two JJ cautiously shook him again.

“Marv? Marvin? C’mon, bro, answer me! Are you okay?” Chase called agitatedly, wide-eyed, his grip tightening on his friend’s arm.

“Mmm?” he mumbled as he groggily stirred.

 **“He…he was supposed to wake _completely_ , right on the spot,”** Jameson whispered, more to himself than to Chase. No sooner had this thought occurred to him did Marvin’s eyes fly open.

Going rigid, he shot upright, tearing away from them and swaying violently as soon as he was on his feet. Nausea turned his stomach and stole his breath as he patted himself down with trembling, tingling hands, ensuring that he was fully intact.

“I—I can’t breathe,” he choked out at last.

“Marv, sit back down,” Chase commanded urgently, tugging on him to no avail. “Look, you just came out of—I don’t even know what! You need to recover! What even happened?!”

“T-This is why you don’t hypnotize a magician,” he bit out, wiping heavily at the fresh sweat beading through his hair. He felt raw and exposed, dizzy with a fear that he couldn’t place and a cloudy reason that wouldn’t surface in his now-racing mind. “S- _Side effects_ — _Feedback_ —”

 **“Oh, g-good heavens, I’m sorry!”** Jameson was already standing too, hurriedly jamming his watch into his pocket as he babbled. **“I d-didn’t know you would have such a violent reaction to it! If I had known it would be dangerous for you, I never would have—!”**

“Don’t,” he managed hoarsely, his voice catching as he summoned what little strength he could and gracelessly shoved past him. He could barely keep his numb, wobbly legs upright, but he latched onto the wall, dragging himself along on a beeline for his room. He couldn’t give in to the anxiety in front of them. “Don’t—Don’t _ever_ do that again.”

**Author's Note:**

> ...This can go nowhere but down.


End file.
